John Sauceda, PhD, MSc, MA
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

I am a Professor In Residence, a health psychologist and Associate Director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS). My research is interlocked with my commitment to high-quality mentoring and faculty development.

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This includes co-directing several NIH-funded mentoring programs: (1) The UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Mentoring Program, (2) the CFAR Scholars Program, (3) the Summer HIV/AIDS Research Program (SHARP), and (4) the Pilot Research and Training Program at the UCSF CALIBER. I am also Faculty Experience and Mentoring Lead for my Division and engaged with the Academic Senate.

My two research programs blend principles and methods from health, clinical and quantitative psychology and that are based on a collaborative team science approach. My primary line of research aims to understand and intervene on factors to address HIV-related health disparities especially among Latino communities. I am interested in applied psychometrics to ensure robust measurement of psychological constructs and social factors measured in Spanish or for comparing outcomes across different populations. For interventions, I use the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to design more dynamic and efficient interventions. My second line of research aims to conduct social science and empirical ethics research to help address some unresolved challenges in HIV cure research, including measuring psychological distress in trial participants, social risk involving treatment interruptions, and promotion of cure science to ensure better representation of priority populations in this high-priority area of HIV science.

I am particularly interested in mentoring individuals who are interested in HIV health disparities research and those interested in the ethics and role that social sciences can play in HIV cure research.

Awards

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  • Excellence in Research Mentoring, AIDS Research Institute, 2025
  • Early Career Research Excellence Award - Behavioral Science, Bay Area-CFAR, 2019
  • LRP Award for Health Disparities Research, NIH/NIMHD, 2018-2020
  • LRP Award for Health Disparities Research, NIH/NIMHD, 2014-2016

Education & Training

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  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of Californa, San Francisco 2020
  • Fellowship Medicine - Center for AIDS Prevention Studies University of California, San Francisco 2016
  • MSc in Global Health Sciences Global Health Sciences University of California, San Francisco 2014
  • PhD in Health Psychology Department of Psychology University of Texas at El Paso 2013
  • Quantitative Methods Department of Psychology University of Texas at El Paso 2013
  • MA in Clinical Psychology Department of Psychology University of Texas at El Paso 2010

Interests

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  • Latino(a) mental health
  • HIV-related disparities
  • adherence interventions
  • engagement in HIV care

Grants and Projects

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Publications (116)

Top publication keywords:
Patient Acceptance of Health CareHIV InfectionsMedication AdherenceDelphi TechniqueAnxietyAcquired Immunodeficiency SyndromeMedically Unexplained SymptomsSan FranciscoAttitude to HealthBiomedical ResearchDrug UsersSocial StigmaConsent FormsAnti-HIV AgentsResilience, Psychological

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